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Learn Your Lawyer · Army · Defense and Trial Counsel

Jonathan E. Pivetz

Counsel of record in 21 courts-martial in the Military Trial Results data
(3 as defense counsel, 18 as trial counsel)
Jan 2021 to Aug 2023

21Cases
3As defense counsel
18As trial counsel
13Contested (not guilty or mixed plea)

As Defense Counsel (Defending)

Average Contests Per Year: 2

3Cases
2Contested
0%Acquitted, contested cases (0 of 2)
100%Partial acquittal, contested cases (2 of 2)

Pleas When Defending

  • Guilty1 (33%)
  • Not Guilty1 (33%)
  • Mixed Plea*1 (33%)

Plea Agreements

  • Plea agreement2 (67%)
  • No plea agreement1 (33%)

Who Decided the Case

  • Judge Alone2 (67%)
  • Enlisted Panel1 (33%)

Contested Panel Cases: 1 of 2

  • Enlisted Panel1 of 2
  • Officer Panel0 of 2

Findings When Defending, All Cases

  • Convicted1 (33%)
  • Partial Acquittal2 (67%)

Contested Findings (Defending)

Decided ByCasesConvictedPartialAcquitted
Judge Alone1010
Enlisted Panel1010

Sentences When Defending

Enlisted (3 Convictions)

  • BCD1 of 3
  • DD1 of 3
  • No Punitive Discharge1 of 3

No Punitive Discharge

1 of 3 Enlisted Convictions

  • Plea agreement0 of 1
  • No plea agreement1 of 1
67%Punitive discharge, enlisted (2 of 3)
67%Confinement (2 of 3 convictions)
6 moMedian confinement
8 moLongest confinement

UCMJ Articles When Defending

ArticleCasesContestedConvictedAcquitted
Art. 120b Rape and sexual assault of a child2212
Art. 128b Domestic violence2111
Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault1101
Art. 128 Assault1111
Art. 130 Stalking1010
Art. 134 General article1101
Art. 80 Attempts1101
Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation1010

As Trial Counsel (Prosecuting)

Average Contests Per Year: 5.7

18Cases
11Contested
45%Acquitted, contested cases (5 of 11)
18%Partial acquittal, contested cases (2 of 11)

Pleas When Prosecuting

  • Guilty7 (39%)
  • Not Guilty10 (56%)
  • Mixed Plea1 (6%)

Plea Agreements

  • Plea agreement4 (22%)
  • No plea agreement10 (56%)
  • Not reported4 (22%)

Who Decided the Case

  • Judge Alone14 (78%)
  • Enlisted Panel4 (22%)

Contested Panel Cases: 4 of 11

  • Enlisted Panel4 of 11
  • Officer Panel0 of 11

Findings When Prosecuting, All Cases

  • Convicted11 (61%)
  • Partial Acquittal2 (11%)
  • Acquitted5 (28%)

Contested Findings (Prosecuting)

Decided ByCasesConvictedPartialAcquitted
Judge Alone7214
Enlisted Panel4211

Sentences When Prosecuting

Enlisted (13 Convictions)

  • BCD3 of 13
  • DD1 of 13
  • No Punitive Discharge9 of 13

No Punitive Discharge

9 of 13 Enlisted Convictions

  • Plea agreement3 of 9
  • No plea agreement4 of 9
  • Not reported2 of 9
31%Punitive discharge, enlisted (4 of 13)
54%Confinement (7 of 13 convictions)
3 moMedian confinement
1.0 yrsLongest confinement

UCMJ Articles When Prosecuting

ArticleCasesContestedConvictedAcquitted
Art. 92 Failure to obey order or regulation6452
Art. 120 Rape and sexual assault5523
Art. 134 General article5241
Art. 131g Wrongful interference with adverse administrative proceeding2111
Art. 86 AWOL2120
Art. 93 Cruelty and maltreatment2121
Art. 107 False official statements1110
Art. 109 Property other than military; waste, spoilage, destruction1101
Art. 112a Wrongful use, possession of controlled substances1010
Art. 117a Wrongful broadcast of intimate visual images1010

Opposing Counsel, Most Cases

Where

  • Fort Drum 18
  • Fort Gordon 1
  • Fort Stewart 1
  • Fort Bragg 1

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Know Your Judge

Counsel of record means this lawyer is listed as defense counsel or trial counsel in the public record of the case. Most cases list more than one lawyer on each side, and the records do not say who led or who argued, so the numbers describe cases this lawyer was counsel on, not individual wins or losses. Pages cover military counsel only; civilian counsel appear in lists by name. Percentages are shown for every count, however small, so check the number of cases behind each one. The Army records say whether there was a plea agreement, not what it said; Air Force records do not report plea agreements, and many Air Force records from 2016 to 2020 do not list the plea. In the article tables one case counts under each article charged, and Air Force records rarely list the charges in cases that ended in acquittal (those show as Charges not listed in the record). Member Retained means the sentence did not include a punitive discharge; it does not rule out a later administrative separation. Mixed Plea* means the record lists a guilty plea but the case ended in a partial acquittal, so at least one charge was contested (a mixed plea, or a guilty plea to a lesser offense). Contested cases are those with a not guilty or mixed plea, plus any case that ended in an acquittal or partial acquittal even when the record does not list the plea.

Source: public records of trial published by each service under Article 140a, UCMJ, as collected for the Military Trial Results page (data updated October 29, 2026). Counts reflect only the cases in this data and may be incomplete. Names are shown as published in the source records.

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